Age of War
by SrgtHamy
Summary: After turning on the Purifier, Azalea thought she would die. But instead she wakes up in a new world, one that seems to be having it's own end of the world problems. (Consider abandoned, I am working on some revisions but that will be posted as a new story.)
1. The Beginning

Rev 21:6

I am Alpha and Omega,

the beginning and the end.

I will give unto him that

is athirst of the fountain

of the water of Life, freely.

When Azalea stepped into the chamber, she knew she wouldn't be exiting it. That's how she wanted it. She remembered what it did to her father and the bastards with him. No matter what she did, she could not rid the image of her father being disintegrated from her minds eye. It had to have hurt; it hurt just to watch.

She had figured that she would ever be able to set foot in this building again. But now that she was here, it felt _right_ that this would be her grave. Once again, she was following in his path; she was "Daddy's Little Girl" after all. She felt that she should cry, but…she couldn't. So many people depended on this moment, on her parents dream. No, she did her crying she was done.

Turning, she waved a final goodbye to Fawkes, Sarah, and her ever faithful companion Dogmeat…who was inside the chamber with her. Blinking, Azalea looked down at the dog at her feet and then back up to the sealed door. Sighing, Azalea ran a tired hand down her face. Of all the stupid, idiotic…most loyal dogs that she could be stuck with, she was glad it was this one.

With one last smile at Fawkes, she turned and entered the code. 216. Her parents where the Beginning, and she was the End. Enter.

* * *

Whatever she was expecting of the afterlife, it wasn't this. Her body ached, and she had the distinct coppery taste of blood in her mouth. She was missing her right first premolar. ' _Wonderful'._ With a groan, Azalea pushes herself up into a sitting position but stops from getting up completely when a sharp pain courses through her body. "Shit." Sighing heavily, she brought a shaky hand to her face. Drawing it back she found her finger slick with blood and sweat. "Double shit." She breathed.

 _'This isn't right.'_ Azalea thought. _'That reactor should have killed me.'_ Finally moving to stand, she got a good look around, and saw green. Perhaps the Purifier had exploded? No, that still wouldn't explain why she was alive. Despite all the scenarios she could come up with, none of them ended with her living.

Green mist floated around her, ghosting over rocks and past her legs. A soft whimper came from behind her. Turning her head, Azalea found the limping form of Dogmeat emerges from the mist. "You okay bud?" Azalea wheezed. "It's alright, I…I'll Figure something out."

Dogmeat only snorted at her, as if to ask 'how?' The duo had been through a lot together, from fighting raiders to running from super mutants, but this, this takes the cake.

A chittering sound came from behind the rocks to their left. The duo immediately tensed and moved away from the noise. Large radspider crawled over the stones towards the two. Normally they would be easily dispatched with a couple of shots from her pistol. However, they where both severely injured, disoriented, and these creatures had the home field advantage. So disregarding her instinct to fight, Azalea grabbed Dogmeat by the scruff of his neck and whipped him up onto her shoulder. Now was the time to _run_.

Turning she ran in the only safe direction she saw, up a steep hill. At the peek of the hill was a bright neon green light. Azalea's gut screamed at her that it was unnatural, but not as dangerous as trying to fight at the moment. So, with Dogmeat still snapping away at the ever gaining radspiders they made their ascent. Glancing up at her goal, Azalea finally noticed a woman standing in the middle of the light. She must have hit her head harder than she thought, because women **don't** glow.

The woman stretched her hand and said something, but with Dogmeat's barking and the pounding in her head, the words where lost on the wind. Finally, Azalea could climb no longer and she threw her hand out. Just out of reach. The woman leaned further forward, just a little closer. Their hands clasped together and suddenly Azalea was pulled forward. A sharp nauseating tug in her left hand, as if her whole body was being compressed into her palm.

Clutching tightly to Dogmeats fur, she fell forward onto her face. The world spun as she tried to move. But the strain was top much. Azalea's world went dark as a couple of strangers approached; she could vaguely make out the image of Dogmeat standing in front of her, growling, determined to protect his master.

* * *

 **Here is the first chapter of my story.**

 **Things to know for the story:**

 **PipBoy \- It does not store things. It monitors the wearers health, but it can't give a definent diagnoses, things like heart rate, radiation level, and with a blood sample it can scan for foriegn bodies in the blood stream. Keeps track of messages, maps, items (through imput), and has a raido.**

 **Stats** **-**

 **Strength- 6**

 **Perception- 6**

 **Endurance- 5**

 **Charisma- 6**

 **Intellegence- 7**

 **Agility- 5**

 **Luck- 6**

 **Perks -**

 **Hematophage**

 **Comprehension**

 **Survival Guru**

 **Skills -**

 **Barter- 47**

 **Big Guns- 32**

 **Energy Weapons- 38**

 **Explosives- 42**

 **Lockpick- 100**

 **Medicine- 100**

 **Melee Weapons- 22**

 **Repair- 59**

 **Science- 77**

 **Small Guns- 34**

 **Speech- 64**

 **Unarmed- 29**


	2. A new day another crisis

**Before I begin I want to let you know I will be using a lot of in game dialouge as you will see in this chapter. I will have my own content, this wont be a carbon copy of the DA:I game, but for most major cutscenes it will be similar.**

* * *

Pain. Pain was all that Azalea could register when she first woke up. Next, was the heavy iron bar that shackled her to the floor. Her legs hurt from being forced to kneel on the floor. How they managed to keep her up right was a mystery in its self. She was in a dark and very wet cellblock. Five guards stood around her, they hadn't noticed she was awake yet it seemed. Two on either side of her, the fifth stood by the heavy wooden door in front of her. A whine brought her attention to an animal in a cage to her right.

"Dogmeat!" She gasped. The chains clanked loudly in the stone room, try as she might, however, she couldn't muster the strength to fight the restraints. Nor could she find it in her to care about the guards who just drew their swords. "I swear, if he's hurt.." She trailed off.

The guard by the door scoffed and stepped forward. "And you'll do what? You are chained and obviously hurt. Besides, that mutt is lucky to be alive. Damned thing bit my hand!" He held up the offending appendage as if to prove his point, but the glove covered any damaged he _might_ have had.

"Not hard enough?" Azalea spat. "Now where the hell are we?" She demanded, though her attention was focused inward. _'Dull pain in left ankle, I can move it so it's probably sprained. Clear thought and vision, which means no concussion then. Pulsing pain in my left hand…'_ A loud bang brought her back to reality. The bitten guard seemed to have left, leaving her with the four other. They all stood tensely around, shuffling from foot to foot. Rolling her eyes, Azalea turned her attention to her hands. There's no way that she would be able to unlock the bar. Even if she could, she couldn't do it discreetly. The guards would be on her like raiders on a caravan. She would have to wait for an opening. Glaring down at the bar, she took notice of how it rested high up on her arm. They didn't take her Pipboy. Maybe they didn't know how to operate it? That wouldn't be too farfetched, the average person has only ever heard of them.

A flash of green caught her attention and the pain I her hand flared up, searing deeply into her flesh. It felt like touching and exposed wire on a reactor. She wouldn't be surprised if she looked down and her flesh was melting away. Vacantly she wondered if the Ghoulification process felt anything like this.

Glancing down at her hand, Azalea found an odd mark on her palm. It almost seemed to spark with an inner power. Oh how that was a comforting thought. All she needed a now was to become some weird, living generator. _'Is this why I'm here?'_ Of all the things she's done, her destiny was to be trapped underground and experimented on.

Another loud bang echoed through the room and two women marched in. The first was a very intimidating brunette. She had short hair that was crowned by a single braid. Tight, but well fitting leather armor hugged every curve, though those curves were hidden by a rather impressive metal chest piece.

Behind her was a slightly shorter red head. This woman wore a long purple shirt, it was split at her hips so the front and back hung freely. _'Most likely to allow for better movement should she need it.'_ Atop her head hung a slightly darker purple hood; Azalea had to guess that it was used not only to protect from the sun, but to hide her face should she need.

The four guards instantly drew back and sheathed their swords. Azalea had seen this behavior before. Back at the Brotherhood's base, the 'soldiers' would stand like this whenever their superiors where around. _'These women must know what's what then.'_ Azalea thought.

The first woman leaned over Azalea, and from this angle she could she an impressive scar on her jaw. She opened her mouth to speak but Azalea cut her off. "You two seem competent. Where the hell am I? Is the Brotherhood here? What _happened_? Did something go wrong?" The questions fell quickly from her mouth before she could stop herself. "Did anyone die?"

"So it was you!" The armored woman accused, lunging forward. "Why did you do it? The entire Conclave is destroyed!" By now she had grabbed Azalea by the shoulder. Her grip was hard and heavy, and Azalea could feel her nails through her Recon Suit. Azalea growled out and tried to jerk away, but the woman just yanked back harder. The momentum from the pull toppled her over and stars flashed before her eyes as her head hit the stone floor.

"We need her Cassandra!" The other woman pulled 'Cassandra' off of her and dragged her across the room. "Allow me to try." Turning back to Azalea, she leveled her with a hard glare. "Do you remember what happened? Who is this 'Brotherhood' that you mentioned?"

Azalea snorted and glared back. "As if you don't know. The Brotherhood of Steel is everywhere!" Pain flared in Azalea's hand again, causing her to grunt. "I was at the Purifier, and then I wasn't. I was in some weird green place, there were radspirders chasing us…then I-I saw a woman."

"A woman?" The red head asked. "What about this mark on your hand? Do you know what it is?" Azalea sighed but didn't say anything. Better to have them think she knows something than nothing. Cassandra glared at her again and looked to be about to protest, but a look from the red head had her change her mind.

"Go to the forward camp, Leliana. I will take her the rift." Leliana nodded and walked quickly out the door. Cassandra knelt in front of Azalea and pulled keys and rope from her belt. Azalea had half a mind to uppercut the woman when the bar was removed. But instead let her tie her hands together. _'Wait, just because I'm out of chains doesn't mean I'm out of danger.'_

"What is the 'rift'." She asked as Cassandra helped her stand. "And if we're going anywhere I want to take my dog with me."

Cassandra snorted and rolled her eyes. "You are in no position to be making demands. Your dog can wait here." Leading her through the door she paused by a gated doorway. "As for the rift, it will be easier to show you." Azalea wasn't pleased with the response but decided to remain silent. At least she was getting out, and Dogmeat can protect himself. If someone tried to hurt him he wouldn't go down without a fight.

She was led up a flight of stairs, though the process was slow thanks to her ankle. When they finally reached the main floor, Azalea was greeted with a large entrance hall. It was artfully built, but also practical. It was also lacking the distinct lack of destruction that all buildings in the waste had. Sure there were buildings that where better off than others, but they all had some form of decay to them. This building looked too pristine. Cassandra led her through the hall and to a large set of ornate doors. As they passed through Azalea took note of the lack of electricity. No lamps, no machines, not even set of mining lights. Instead the walls where lined with old, well used torches. She had figured that they used torches in the basement to conserve power, but now. She wasn't too sure. Natural light poured in through a set of windows above the door.

The doors where much larger up close and Azalea figured that it would take a couple of people to open each. That was unneeded though, as there was a smaller door cut into one of them. The guard by the door opened it with a nod from Cassandra, and the two walked through.

She couldn't believe it. There where… _trees!_ Actual trees! Not the black and charred twigs that you see everywhere, but _actual green and living trees!_ She had always thought that Three Dawg was only joking when he said that some still existed. And the snow! In the few places that it wasn't too hot to snow, it was irradiated. Nobody in their right mind would go outside in the harsh winter.

A blinding light caught Azalea's attention and she turned her eyes towards the sky. A large glowing cloud hung in the sky, lightning danced around and through the sky. In the very center was a large beam of light that shout up into it from the ground on the other side of a mountain. Boulders where held suspended in the beam and meteors fell out the cloud. _'A mushroom cloud? No it's not…what is that?'_

"We call it The Breach." Cassandra commented, as if she could some how sense her question. "It's a massive rift into the world of demons that grows larger with each passing hour." She continued, turning back towards Azalea. "It's not the only such rift. Just the largest. All were caused by the explosion at the Conclave." At the word explosion she sent Azalea a harsh glare and stalked forward. Distinctly, she recalled mentioning something about an explosion back in the cell block. _'Ah, that's why she is accusing me.'_

"If the bomb is strong enough—wait did you say _demons? Really?"_ Azalea sputtered and looked at Cassandra incredulously. _'Maybe she means ghouls?'_ she thought. _'Or maybe you really are dead and this is hell.'_ A voice in the back of her head offered.

"Unless we act, The Breach may grow until it swallows the world." Azalea would have snorted, had it not been for a large surge in 'The Breach'. Pain exploded through her palm and she couldn't help but cry out and fall to her knees. The pain didn't die off quickly, instead slowly growing weaker with each pulse. "Each time The Breach expands, your Mark spreads…and it is killing you. It may be the key to stopping this, but there isn't much time." Cassandra crouched in front of her, and almost pleading look in her eyes.

"Key? What do you mean?" Azalea pressed through clenched teeth. She didn't like where this was going. She already went on her 'world saving quest', it was someone else's turn.

"Closing the breach. Whether that's possible is something that we shall discover shortly. It is our only chance however, and yours." Azalea huffed. The first straight answer out of anyone here and it was one that condemns her. Sighing Azalea looked up at Cassandra, and made the make of looking her in the eyes. Her shoulders slumped and she opened her mouth to tell her to shove it, but that pleading look. These people where in pain. And she'd be damned if her father raised her to deny help if she could.

"Alright." Azalea muttered. "But I had no hand in this." Hope filled Cassandra's frace and though she didn't relax, she was no longer rigid.

"Then..." The question hung in the air and Azalea only nodded her conformation. She really needed to lose this helpful streak. It got her into more trouble than it was worth. Cassandra stood suddenly, pulling Azalea up with her by the back of her suit. With a nod, Cassandra began leading her through the small village, the people leering at her as she passed. "They have decided your guilt. They need it." Cassandra informed her. "The people of Haven mourn our most Holy, Divine Justinia, head of the Conclave. The Conclave was hers." Azalea nodded at the slightly shorter woman. The words 'Holy', 'Divine', and 'Haven' settled in her mind. Haven was obviously the villages name, but 'Holy' and 'Divine' she couldn't help the heavy feeling that settled in her gut. _'Please don't let this be some weird cult.'_ She prayed, mostly to herself as they approached a bridge. "It was a chance for peace between Mages and Templars. She brought their leaders together. Now, they are dead." Great, there's a war between clans and she's at the center. "We lash out the sky. But we must think beyond ourselves. As she did. Until The Breach is sealed" Cassandra paused, and pulled a dagger from her belt. "There will be a trail, I can promise no more." With that she cut Azalea's bindings and turned away. "Come, it is not far."

Azalea rubbed her wrists. They were red from the rough rope and heavy metal bar that wasn't placed properly. "So, I take it we're going to this 'Breach' then?" Azalea chewed her lip and glanced back at the sky. She was so tired. Why did this have to happen to her? She was only eighteen for crying out loud! In all honesty, she felt like crying. It wasn't fair.

Cassandra shook her head, "No, we must test it on something smaller first." The threat hung in the air. If she couldn't close a smaller rift, then that was her death sentence. There was no doubt in her mind that life in prison was off the table. Well she had figured she would die today anyway. What's a few more hours. As the two walked across the bridge, they passed a small congregation of people. A man was talking, no chanting. He was reciting a prayer, and with all the bodies that laid on the path it was no wonder. _'They're so frightened. They have no hope.'_ A guard caught her eye and spat in her direction. _'They're also angry it seems.'_

"Open the gates! We are heading into the Valley." At her command the two guards at the door opened their path and they walk quickly through. Normally Azalea would have jogged, but her ankle was hurting worse now that she was putting weight on it. Cassandra seemed to notice her slight limp, because she stopped up the path and waited by a tipped wagon. "Here, drink half of this. It will not do to have you slow us down." She said as she tossed Azalea a vial with red liquid inside. _'Must be a pain remedy.'_ She took a deep drink of the concoction and had to fight from gagging. She had had her share of foul medicine before; at least this had a sickly sweet after taste. And it was effective. The pain quickly disappeared and she even felt as if it was healed, if the sudden mobility in the appendage was anything to go by. Azalea nodded her thanks and motioned if it was okay to keep. She wanted to study it, or at least use it again later. She nodded and she deftly attached it to her belt as she jogged up to Cassandra.

The two continued to jog up the path, and a group of guards rushed past in the opposite direction. Azalea swore she heard one of them shouting about the 'end of the world'. Snorting she shook her head. _'As if that hasn't already happened.'_ Despite this thought though, something told that they were onto something. She still had not gotten over the sight of trees yet. If anything it had gotten worse, as she and Cassandra made their way up the inclining path, they passed more and more living plant life. It was unsettling to say the least.

The Breach flared again, and Azalea couldn't help but cry out. She stumbled and fell to her knees as tears blurred her vision; she felt as if she was going to pass out at any minute. Cassandra knelt in front of her and offered a hand up. "The pulses are coming faster now." She said as she patted Azalea on the shoulder. "The larger the Breach grows, the more rifts appear, the more demons we face."

"Okay, I have to stop you there. What do you mean by demons?" Azalea interrupted. The woman next to her sighed and shook her head.

"It is as I say; demons are pouring into our world and causing chaos. But you will see when we get to the first rift." Cassandra turned and walked towards a large arch way of another bridge. "I must confess that this is all very surreal to myself as well. Before we only had to worry about abominations, demons trying to possess mages and apostates. Now we must deal with them in the flesh." Mages. There is that term again. Azalea wondered if maybe so drug dealers had taken to calling themselves that. It would make since, the drugs would make people think that magic was real. But that was neither here nor there. She would most likely never get the chance to ask, so why bother.

Cassandra moved in front over as they made their way across the bridge. She raised her hand as if to call out to the guards on the other side, but at that moment Azalea noticed a meteor falling right on path with the bridge. "LOOK OUT!" She cried. Diving forward, Azalea tackled Cassandra to the floor. But it did little as they were still on the bridge. She ducked her head under her arms and pulled Cassandra down under her body as the meteor crashed into the bridge in front of them. With a loud crash, the bridge collapsed and broke to pieces. Debris fell around the two and Azalea tucked further in on herself until the noise settled around them. A minute passes before Cassandra seems to gather her senses and push Azalea off of her. She pushed herself to her feet; she glares harshly at Azalea and looks as if she where about to yell at her. Her jaw snaps shut and her face contorts as if she had eaten an especially sour lemon.

"I…thank yo-" Another green meteor crashed onto the frozen lake they where on and exploded on impact. ' _That's not a meteor!'_ Azalea gasped as a black creature roared in the center. "Stay behind me!" Cassandra commanded. Azalea was all too ready to listen as she scrambled to her feet. _'I want no part of this!'_ But as Cassandra charged the creature, Azalea noticed a black blob bubbling behind her. Smoke rose from the blob and it is seemed to solidify into another one of the creatures.

"Shit…" She breathed out. The creature roared and Azalea leaped back away from it. "Shit! Shit shit shit shit!" They just had to have taken her weapons. Azalea kicked herself for not focusing on hand to hand combat while she lived in The Capital Waste. Glancing around she grabbed the nearest thing to her and chucked it at the creature. An apple; she just threw an apple as a means of defense. Azalea kept the approaching beast in front of her as she glanced around her, looking for anything to shield her from the impending attack Out of the corner of her eye she spotted a paring knife sticking out of a barrel to her left. _'It's better that nothing.'_ She thought as she dove towards the knife. The creature charged forward with both hands raised and roared again.

Wrapping her fingers around the small hilt she rolled out of the way and watched as the creature destroyed the barrel of fruit. Azalea continued to duck, roll, and leap out of the creatures way, looking for a way to make use of her pathetic weapon. The creature turned suddenly and charged Cassandra. Her back was turned as she tried to fend of her own adversary. _'Now was her chance!'_ Azalea charged forward with a 'roar' of her own and leaped onto the creatures back. She brought the knife down onto the base of the creature's skull and twisted. The knife snapped and Azalea cursed her luck, but it seemed to have been enough as the creature let out a cry and dissolved into a pile of goo at her feet.

"Eeew." Azalea muttered. Another cry sounded and she glanced up to see Cassandra stalking towards her. With her sword drawn. With a heavy sigh she tossed the useless handle to the side. "What? I don't have a weapon anymore!" She growled at Cassandra. The woman paused and let out a sigh of her own.

"I suppose you do not." She said as she sheathed her sword. "And unfortunately I cannot leave you undefended in the Valley. Here." She pulled out the dagger she used to cut Azalea's bindings and handed it to her. "I should remember you agreed to come willingly." Azalea rolled her eyes and placed the dagger in her belt for easy access. Looking up she noticed Cassandra had already began to move on up a frozen waterfall. Jogging to catch up with her, Azalea bit her lip, contemplating the thoughts rushing through her mind.

"So…that was a demon…" She mumbled, not quite a question. Cassandra nodded and 'hmmed' drawing her sword again and pointed over and edge. Following her finger Azalea groaned as she spotted two more 'demons' prowling around below. Cassandra began to say something but Azalea tuned her out as she backed up and pulled the dagger from her belt. Holding her breathe she bolted forward and leaped off of the ledge. She intended to land on one, plant the blade in the demons face and then jump onto the other one. If anyone asked that's what she would tell them. As it is, she put too much power into her jump and soared over their heads. She landed with a grunt and turned to face the two demons. Before she could begin stabbing all hell out of them, however, Cassandra's long sword sliced through both of them, turning them into piles of goo. Cassandra let out a soft chuckle and turned to a very disgruntled Azalea. "That was a good distraction." Azalea only scowled and turned away form the laughing woman.

"Let's keep moving." She grunted and stalked past several corpses. The path didn't get any easier, much to both of their dismay. Demons continued to rain from the heavens and Azalea learned the hard way that wraiths where not to be ignored. Gingerly poking her cheek, Azalea hissed and cursed her luck. ' _Of all the things I choose to dismiss, I choose the thing that can burn me. Why did I even do that! I know better! Rule number one of the Waste is to assume everything is hostile until proven other wise.'_ She growled and uncorked the 'potion', as Cassandra calls it, and takes a small swig. She still wanted to take a look at it if she had the time.

Cassandra motioned for her to follow her up a flight of stairs. "We're getting close to the rift. You can hear the fighting." Azalea bit back the question of 'who?' and jogged to keep up with Cassandra. She new she wouldn't get a straight answer. The woman seemed to have an aversion to those. Reaching a ledge Azalea found her self facing a group of people fighting demons. Three of them where guards, but the other two where obviously not affiliated with the trio. _'Mercenaries, perhaps?'_ Azalea's mind offered up. She quickly entered the fray as on of the guards went down. While everyone was fighting she used this chance to inspect the two non-guards. At the very center of the battle was a floating ball of crystals. _'That must be the mini rift.'_

One of the men was short and robust; she figured he would reach her breasts. He had straw colored hair he had pulled back in a half pony tail, and his red embroidered shirt was left half unbuttoned to show off his chest hair. He was standing at the edge of the fighting, opting to shoot the demons with an impressive crossbow. The other man was his complete opposite. He was tall and thin, with a head so shiny it could be used as a mirror. He wore a green winter shirt with tight leggings, but the two things that jumped out at her was the stick he was fighting the demons with and his ears. The stick she could write it off as some odd adaptation of a plasma rifle, but his ears where long and pointed. From the distance she was unable to tell is they were modifications or a mutation.

Shaking her head, Azalea dug her dagger into the last demons throat and watched it die before turning to Cassandra. She was about to ask what she was supposed to be doing when the bald man grabbed her arm and dragged her towards the rift. "Quickly, before more come through!" He shouted and thrust her hand up at the rift. A warm burn flared through her whole arm and a beam of energy shot to her palm. Energy sparked off of the rift before it imploded in on its self, collapsing out of existence.

"What was that?" Azalea asked, eyeing the man.

"I did nothing, the credit is yours." The man smiled, almost smugly at her. Azalea didn't like. It screamed 'I know more than you'.

"It's not off with my head then." She joked, and smiled back. Daring the man to say other wise.

"Indeed not. I would hate to see something so fascinating be destroyed." There it is. He didn't see _her_ , he saw the mark. It was a source of intrigue that he wanted to dissect. She glared and snorted at the thought. The man frowned but continued to speak. "Whatever magic opened the Breach in the sky also placed the mark upon your hand. I theorized the mark might be able to close the rifts that have opened in the Breaches wake—and it seemed I was correct."

"Meaning it could also close the Breach." Cassandra butted in from behind her. She stalked forward and looked at the bald man. He began to speak but Azalea cut him off.

"That's great! But I doubt this little thing has the power close it completely. I will most likely die in the process." The bald man frowned and shook his head, as if the idea was impossible. "Look I don't know much about what is going on, but I am not _stupid_. I know that you will need a large power source to even begin to consider altering something that large. You'd need like fifty of these marks."

"Ah, don't be a pessimist." The shorter man finally spoke. He readjusted his glove and moved forward. Azalea turned toward him and tilted her head. "Varric Tehras: rouge, storyteller, and occasionally unwelcome tagalong." He finished with a wink at Cassandra, who scowled at the man.

"That's a wicked crossbow you have there." Azalea said. She really did think highly of it. It was obviously of high craftsmanship.

"Ah, isn't she? Bianca and I have been through a lot together." Azalea quirked an eyebrow and the name but didn't say anything. She had heard much worse names for a weapon. As she vaguely recalled finding a sledgehammer with the name 'The Tenderizer' etched into its handle. "She will be great company in the Valley."

Cassandra shoved past Azalea and marched towards Varric. "Absolutely not. Our help is appreciated Varric, but.." Azalea glared at the woman and moved her arm in front of her.

"He can obviously help, Cassandra. Just let him." Cassandra began to protest but settled with a disgusted noise before turning away and Varric sent her a smile.

"My name is to be Solas, if there are to be introductions. I am pleased to see you still live." The bald man said, the smug grin from before was once again on his face and Azalea had the urge to punch it off. She nodded absentmindedly and turned back to Varric who had snorted.

"He means, 'I kept that mark from killing you while you slept.'" Azalea blushed at the comment and turned back to Solas. With a quick bow of her head she thanked him and began tugging on the hood of her suit.

"My name is Azalea Maddison. I would introduce my dog, but as it stands, Cassandra here would not let me bring him along." She turned to Varric and sent him a pleading look. "Hey, if I die…can you look after Dogmeat for me? He means the world to me and I don't want him to be alone." Varric let out a loud laugh and stared opened mouth at her.

"You named you dog _Dogmeat_? Oh, that is rich!" He laughed again and shook his head. "Yeah, I'll look after him. But you shouldn't cut yourself short, kid. You don't know how this will play out." Azalea nodded and the trio moved towards an impatient Cassandra.

"Done? The forward camp is just across the way and the main path is blocked." She said as she climbed over bit of fence. The group quickly made there way done the path to a frozen lake. On the opposing side sat a burning building and another building on the far end to her right. They began walking across the lake when a piercing scream sounded from their left. "Some one is in trouble." Cassandra stated and drew her sword. Without pause, they all darted toward the location of the scream.

A woman lay at the top of a hill surrounded by three demons. The first two where easily dispatched but the third proved a td difficult to put down. It seemed to have some sort of armor and large spines protruded from its back. Solas finished it off with a bolt of electricity, and Azalea was already kneeling over the woman checking for a pulse. She shook her head and looked down. _'Pour woman probably thought she was safe up here.'_ Azalea kicked snow onto the still burning fire and moved back down the slop.

"So where are you from? I don't recognize your accent." Varric asked as the made their way across the lake. Azalea bit her lip and turned to the shorter man. _'Should I? This place is so strange…I'm not even sure where I am…'_

"I'm from The Wastes." She decided. "My dad raised me in a Vault." Varric sputtered and looked at her incredulously.

" _The Waste?_ I must have heard you wrong. Nobody _lives_ in The Wastes." Azalea couldn't help the smile that crept onto her face. _'They know about The Waste! That must mean I'm in some sort of compound or something.'_ Cassandra grunted began climbing another set of stairs. She was very obviously still upset at Varric's presences, Azalea mused. "So are you innocent?" Varric asked after he finally got over his shock.

"Yes, I don't know how I got here, but I know I'm innocent." She couldn't have caused this. _'But maybe I did…'_ the thought whispered in her mind. _'The Purifier could have exploded and created a second nuclear fallout. You don't know anything about the project, it was your parents dream and you ruined it'_ Azalea shook her head and growled. Varric had said something but she missed it. The group fell into a tense silence as the continued through the Valley. They ran into a few more demons but they were delt with easily and the group moved on.

Finally approached another bridge, this one unfortunately had a rift right in front of it. She growled and heard Solas yell that it needed to be sealed. _'No shit.'_ Ignoring the demons around her, Azalea tore open the rift like last time. The same warm burn snaked up her arm and she noted how the demons seemed to sway and slow at the rifts closing and filled it away for later. The slowed demons fell quickly with a screech and Cassandra yelled for the gates to be opened.

Azalea huffed and marched past the guards as the doors groaned open. Guards and people in white and ride huddled together in groups. Each group was talking about something different, some talked about the rifts and others talked about the low supplies. Cassandra stalked forward through the small crowd to two people further down the bridge. She wasn't sure who the man was, but she definitely remembered that the red headed woman next to him was named Leliana. As they approached Azalea could hear the tail end of an argument, and decided that Cassandra would be better suited to interrupt.

"Ah, here they come." The man remarked as Leliana stepped around a table.

"You made it. Chancellor Roderick, this is—" she began only to be interrupted. Azalea rolled her eyes at the man and tuned him out. On the table sat a map of what she assumed was the Breaches epicenter. With a flick of her wrist, she powers up her Pipboy and moves it over the map. The Pipboy buzzes for thirty seconds as it scans the paper and stores the information in its hard drive. A picture of a smiling Vault Boy flashes on the screen, signifying that it has finished. With a flick of the dial, Azalea moves the picture to the map section and lays the interactive grid over it. Finished she looked back up to the 'adults' fighting over who is in charge.

"If no one here is in charge, then where does that leave us, hmm?" Azalea wondered aloud.

"You _killed_ everyone who was in charge!" Roderick growled out. Azalea raised and eyebrow at that but only watched as Cassandra approached the table. "Call a retreat, Seeker. Our position here is hopeless." The two began talking again albeit in a much calmer manor, and Azalea sighed heavily as she sat on a chest near the table. Azalea inhaled sharply as the Breach expanded once more. The pain was becoming bearable, but it was also getting larger. All discussion ceased, in favor of watching her.

"How do you think we should proceed?" Cassandra asked. Azalea glanced at the mark at her hand and then up to the mountain. If she choose to charge with the troops, then there was a chance she could get killed and these people would be stuck cleaning up their own mess. On the other hand, she could satisfy her need to help people by taking the mountain path, and maybe she wouldn't be executed. Sighing heavily, Azalea stood and looked at Cassandra.

"We take the mountain path."

* * *

 **Thank you everyone who followed my story, I hope I can make this story as entertaining as possible.**

 **coduss: yes the first chapter was a little short. It seemed a lot longer when I was writting it by hand. This chaper it much longer, and while I can't promise all the chapters will be long, I will most certainly be trying.**

 **Last chapter I mentioned that the Pipboy is not a storage unit. Azalea is caring her things either strapped to her body or in her travel pack. You will see the contents of her bag at a later date.**


	3. Of Cold Winds and Behemoth Demons

**Here is chapter 3, while it is marginally smaller, it was part of the previous chapter that I decided to expand on a little.**

* * *

"Regardless if we charge with the soldiers or not, people will die. But if we go up the mountain path, we might be able to find and save those scouts." Azalea reasoned.

…

The cold wind bit into their skin as they climbed the mountain. Cassandra led the group followed closely by Azalea, Varric, and at the rear was Solas. Azalea smiled smugly at her three 'companions' as they blinked rapidly to keep the snow out of them. She was extremely thankful that when they took her into custody, they didn't take her biker goggles. Frost crept around the edges of the glass and she occasionally had to scrap it off, but at least her eyes weren't being abused.

Leliana was correct, this path was much safer. Aside from the harsh wind they were met with no resistance. They had met no demons, animals, or people for that matter. If it was like this through out the entire mountain path, then what happened to the scouting party? Azalea scowled as she climbed the last of the wooden steps. _'They are either dead, or they deserted…'_ She couldn't blame them if that's what they all did. From what little she had heard of the conflict in these parts, they'd be insane not to. There where the drug dealers, the obviously corrupt law enforcement, and these weird mutated creatures running about. But that still didn't explain everything. Why did most of the corpses she'd seen been without armor or weapons? Where was the Brotherhood? Or even the Enclave? Was she in such an isolated compound that nobody even knew about? _Where the hell was she?_

"What sort of path is this, a mine?" Solas shouted over the wailing of the wind. Cassandra's response was drowned out and Azalea began to climb a wooden ladder. Another thing that seemed in too well of condition; her stomach twisted and Azalea had to swallow the hard lump in her throat. She paused after climbing a second flight of stairs. A growling had come from up ahead. _'There's the demons.'_ Pulling the dagger from her belt, she motioned for the others to draw their weapons as well. Creeping toward the mouth of the cave, mine, _whatever they decided it was,_ and peeked through.

In the entrance stood one of the armored demons and two wisps; she didn't think that they could sneak by, so Azalea motioned for Cassandra to charge the larger demon. Azalea wasn't disappointed when the demon noticed their presence before Cassandra could even lift her sword. Solas leaped forward, his odd staff charged with electricity, held out before him. Slamming it down, the charge jumped from each of the creatures and Azalea used this as a chance to get behind the wisps. She lifted her blade and sliced through 'back'. The dagger passed through the gas like body and the creature screeched, disappearing like smoke over a blown out candle. Looking around, she found the others had already killed the other wisp and demon. A quick nod and they moved further into the mine. Aside from a larger group of demons, Azalea was pleased to note that she had found a small bag of money and another dagger.

It wasn't all pleasant however, as soon as they had exited the cave they found some of the missing scouting party. "This cannot be all of them." Cassandra muttered and Azalea felt her self hoping that she was right. Through out her entire time spent in The Waste, she had never gotten over the idea of people dying like this. The doctor in her screamed at the _stupidity_ of it all. Gritting her teeth she jogged a head of the others and climbed onto a large rock. Ignoring the wind biting at her cheeks, she surveyed the path ahead. There! Just around the corner was another rift, and surrounding it was what appeared to be people. "Up ahead! Quickly!" She shouted before charging off in the direction she indicated.

Approaching the rift, Azalea quickly threw the dagger she had yet to return to Cassandra. Since it was not a throwing dagger however, it flipped and the hilt smacked into the back of a demons head. It turned and roared at her before charging with its arms raised. A crossbow bolt flew past her ear and stuck between the things eyes. She shot Varric a smile as he approached her. "Well? Do your thing." He said, nudging her with his elbow. Nodding, she turned and lifted her hand to close the rift. But before she could fully lift it, the rift pulsed and two beams of light shot out of it. The spots where the light connected with the ground bloated and grew solid before bursting. In their spot stood two tree-like creatures; to Azalea, these looked more like something she would see in the waste. She could see it now, a group of scientist standing hunched in their lab operating on a horribly disfigured human in hopes of creating a 'superior being'.

The tree creatures let out an ear piercing scream and everyone close to it stumbled, clasping their hands over their ears. A series of bolts and electricity from Varric and Solas silenced the two creatures long enough for Cassandra and Azalea to kill them. Like the demons, the creatures dissolved into a pile of goo and Azalea knelt down to examine the pile. Being thankful that the Recon Suit had gloves, she dug her hand into the mess and fished around, dissecting the pile at the center. Her fingers wrapped around something hard and jagged and with a quick tug, her hand emerged with a wet 'pop'. Ignoring Solas, Azalea examined the crystal in her hand. It was purple and resembled a chunk of flawed amethyst.

"Thank the prisoner, Lieutenant. She insisted we come this way." She found Cassandra motioning towards her with the dagger she had thrown, before stowing it away on her belt. The scouts all wore a fur mask around their mouth with different assortments of weapons between them. Shaking the goo off her hand before popping the crystal into her pocket, she nodded to them and looked to Cassandra.

"I told you we might be able to save them." Azalea said, though it came out sounding smugger than she intended. Cassandra only nodded before pointing to a ladder.

"Down the ladder. That's the way to the Temple." Marching forward, Cassandra slid easily down to the platform below. Solas and Varric followed after her, but Azalea paused. The Temple was where the mess had all started. Perhaps she might be able to find some information as to where she is down there. If not, she was running the first chance she got.

As they made their way down the sloping path, Azalea half listened to Varric and Solas discuss how holes in 'The Fade' happen. It was another new term that she just couldn't bring herself to care about. This entire time she had been running on adrenaline and desperation, now everything was starting to catch up to her. She hadn't realized how _tired_ she was, nor did she notice how her muscles screamed in agony with every wrong move. Suffice to say, she felt like she just went on a three day trek through raider territory.

A hand came to a rest on her shoulder and pulled her to a halt. Looking up, she found Solas looking at her with a mild look of concern. "Are you injured? That was the fifth time you tripped over your own feet." Azalea scowled and batted his hand away. She pushed passed the much taller man with a mutter 'tired'. Continuing down the path they met no more demons, but as they approached the rocky crater that was the Temple, the stench of burnt flesh hit Azalea square on. "The Temple of Sacred Ashes." She heard Solas say sadly.

"What's left of it." Varric breathed, Azalea had to agree. Of all the things she's seen so far, this resembled The Waste the most. That meant that it didn't belong in these _Garden of Eden_. It almost made her hate The Waste more than she already did. Almost.

"That is where you walked out of the Fade and our soldier found you and your dog." Cassandra said. "They say a woman was in the rift behind you. No one knows who she was." Gritting her teeth, Azalea stalked past the charred corpses to the ruined archway leading into the crater. She told them that she had no part of what happened here. There had been an obvious mistake in the cell of Haven. They had found her else where and the real culprit was still locked away in the dark.

Enter the archway; she couldn't help but whistle at the sight of the Breach. It had to be miles wide and much more intimidating up close. The boulders she noted before, where massive; about the size of a small house if she had to guess. Tearing her eyes away from the cloud, she surveyed the rest of the crater. All around her was scorched rubble that tore away from the center of area. In the middle stood a half destroyed satue that looked like it was holding a large rift in the sky.

"You're here. Thank the Maker." A familiar voice said from behind them. Turning her head, she watched Leliana and a group of scouts jog forward out of the corner of her eye. _'Did she expect them not to make it? Or maybe she expected to get here first…'_

"Leliana, have you men take up positions around the Temple." Cassandra commanded. "This is your chance to end this. Are you ready?"

"I assume we have to deal with this rift first?" Azalea asked with a sigh. The rift in question looked to have beams of energy that connected straight to the Breach. _'That means this is the power source.'_

"That is correct. Since this rift was the first, that means if we seal it, we may be able to seal the Breach." Solas confirmed. The 'may' however only made her groan. She knew it wouldn't be this simple. It never is!

"Then let's find a way down. And be careful." Azalea heard Cassandra say. But she was already climbing over a stone railing and jumping down into the crater below. She grinned when she heard the woman shout at her to wait and growl. _'If they want to take the easy route then fine.'_ Azalea approached the rift and gazed up at it. It was nearly three times the size as the previous few she had encountered. Immediately she new what would happen. She would open this thing and demons would pour out, they would deal with those demons and then she would seal the rift. But surviving that? Then what?

Cassandra had mentioned that she would get a trail, and with this much destruction…there's no way she would get out alive. " **Now is the hour of our victory.** " A voice suddenly bellowed. " **Bring forth the sacrifice.** " Looking around widely, Azalea could find nothing that would project a voice like this. " **Keep the sacrifice still.** " The Voice seemed to come from the very air around her, the whole ground shook with each word. " _ **Someone, help me!**_ " A softer voice called. Azalea stepped forward and the rift sparked before rippling. An image, not too unlike a hologram burst forth before her, and Azalea half noticed the others running up behind her.

A dark figure stood before an older woman that was being held in the air. An explosion flashed in the hologram and Azalea could vaguely make out the shape of a woman and a dog fall into frame. " **Ugh…** " The woman groaned and Azalea was shocked to realize that it was her! " **What…What's going on…** " The older woman in the hologram called to Azalea to run for help. But her cries where drowned out by the dark figure ordering other to kill her. In a burst of light the image fizzled out.

"You _were_ there! Who attacked? And the Divine, is she…? Was this vision true? What are we seeing?" Cassandra had her by the arms again. But Azalea only stared at the rift, mouth agape. _'How…?'_ This wasn't anything like she had hoped. Instead it had only added _more_ question to the pile. She had no memory of this of any kind, that couldn't possibly be her. Even if it was, how had she gotten here? How much was she forgetting? How much time had passed between now and her turning on the Purifier? It couldn't be long, she was after all wearing the same thing as when she did…maybe…no. It just didn't make any since!

A nudge brought her back to reality, and jumping, she found Varric sending her an encouraging smile. "Just like last time kid." The words where kind, but she could hear the fear behind it. Glancing around she noted that all around them everyone stood ready, staring fearfully at the rift. With a sigh she raised her hand and let the mark tear open the rift.

She had expected just a higher quantity of the same demons she had faced before. Instead what came through was the stuff of nightmares. It looked a cross between a Mirelurk and a Deathclaw, and it was as tall as a Super Mutant Overlord. A tiny part of her mind told her she should be thankful that it wasn't as tall as a Behemoth, but she couldn't make herself feel relieved over that. Especially since all she was armed with was a single dagger and her fists. She retreated to the edge of the fighting near Solas and glanced around helplessly. The rift pulsed and she suddenly remembered what happened to the demons the last time she opened a rift near them. Holding her breath, Azalea lifted her hand and hoped that it would work this time as well.

The rift tore open and the large _beast_ roared, falling to one knee. Taking advantage of its vulnerability, the 'soldiers' attacked the thing. Azalea felt hopeless. She recalled all the times she had faced super mutants in the past. But those times she usually just chucked some grenades at them and had them chase her into someone else's territory. The new enemies usually distracted them long enough for her to slip away. But she didn't have those now. She didn't have anything.

Blood drained from her face as she repeated the process, occasionally stopping to deal with some smaller demons that tried to attack the others. She didn't know how long they had to do this but she was getting tired. Her arm felt like led and a soft buzzing was creeping up to her shoulder. It almost felt like the time she had freezer duty in the Vault and her arms had gone numb from the cold. Only with this, she could _feel_ her arm move. She could feel the pull every time she tore open the rift, or when she pushed a demon off of her. A slow drumming was beginning to sound in her ears, and she could faintly hear Cassandra call for her to seal the rift.

Lifting her arm one last time, she pulled on the rift with all that she had left. The monster cried out as it was sucked back into the rift before it closed. Azalea heard the sound of an explosion and cheering before her world tilted and went dark.

* * *

When they had brought the prisoner back to Haven on a stretcher, most had figured that she would be dumped back into the dungeon bellow. They were surprised, however, when she was taken to an empty cabin near the main gate. Apparently she had not only stablized the Breach, but stopped saved several scouts that were thought dead. She was all anyone could talk about.

When they dropped the woman off, Lady Cassandra had refused to say anything. Instead she marched straight for the Chantry, a few minutes passed before she returned with the prisoner's strange dog. He was black and white, with two different colored eyes. The right one was a normal brown color, but the left was a shocking pale blue. It was as if he were blind in that eye, but it seemed to cause him no trouble. Lady Cassandra all but dragged the dog to a dwarf, Varric Tethras some said he was, and told him that the dog was his to care for until the prisoner was awake again. He only laughed and nodded before scrathing the dog on the head. While the dog fought Lady Cassandra, he only looked confused at the dwarf.

A day passed and the woman had still not awoken. The 'healer' had said he had done all he could for her, that they just had to wait and see. He then stalked off saying he'd be back as soon as they figured out how to get that strange outfit off of her. This only peaked the interest of Havens inhabitants more. They had all seen her as she had passed through. She wore a dull brown, skin tight suit that had metal bits at her shoulders, elbows and knees, lower chest, and hips. It looked worn down and old, as if she had dug it out of an old forgotten chest. Some scratched their heads, as it seemed to do little in the way of armor, and others (mostly older women) gossiped about how it 'didn't suit her at all'. They mentioned how it did no favors to her shockingly pale skin or for her oddly cut dark red hair. They then moved onto said hair; saying that no woman should have their heads shaved in such a way. And it _was_ quite shocking to see. Her hair was shaven on either side of her head, leaving only about and inch width of hair straight down the center, it was left hanging down over one ear and cut so it cruved up and over said ear.

The talking continued and soon many turned to Mr. Tethras, who regaled all who would listen of how the woman had stablized the Breach and saved everyone from certain doom. He especially loved to go on about how she apparently named the dog at his side, _Dogmeat._ The rumors spread by word of mouth and by letter. Each tale a little more exagerated than the last. Two more days passed and with a little help from Leliana's people, everyone in and out of Haven were calling her: Herald of Andraste.

* * *

 **Thank you to everyone who is following/favorited this story!**

 **coduss: Thank you, as for her learning that she's in another world that will most definently turn her world upside down.**


	4. New Beginnings

Chapter 4

Azalea awoke early in the day. A dull pounding in the back of her skull told her that she was very much alive. Groaning, she rolled to her side and studied her surroundings. She was in some sort of shack. It was well kept and warmed by the lit fireplace, all around her where random items of interest. It was as if someone deliberately placed them there because they were unsure of the inhabitant's interests. At the foot of her bed, a set of clothes lay discarded on a small table. Slowly moving to sit she gave a curious glance at her own attire. She still wore her recon suit, though bits of the suit where tugged out of place or twisted around. _'They must not have known how to take it off.'_ Normally Azalea would have thought this preposterous, but from what she's seen so far, the lack of modern technology, it seems they had forgone these conveniences to start again.

Sighing, Azalea slowly rose to her feet and shuffled to the clothes. They where tan with little silver clasps all over it. She would have thought they were an odd set of night clothes if it weren't for the matching boots that sat under the table. Glancing around the room again she noted the distinct lack of her traveler's bag. With a scoff she turned back to the clothes in her hand before tossing the pile on the bed. She was dirty, tired, and sore; she needed to check for injuries, especially since these people didn't.

Her fingers worked there way to each of the valves on her suit, starting at her shoulders down to her hips. The familiar hiss of each valve releasing sent a smile to her face; though, part of her wondered if maybe it was just because her suit was no longer tight against her. Unclasping the hood, she pulled that from her body first. Even though she never wore the hood up, she still attached it whenever she put it on. Sarah made sure that she did when she spent a week making sure Azalea knew how to put it on as quickly as possible.

Slowly peeling the suit off, Azalea thought back to all the times she had to learn how to use a new set of armor. She had originally thought it would be like wearing new clothes, but it wasn't. Each suit had a different weight, a different balance, if you wanted to use a suit you had to know it and out lest you get yourself killed. Her suit fell to the floor around her feet; she began her inspection with her shoulders before she worked her way down. Her body was littered with scars, most where caused by bullets and plasma rifles, but there where a few that was from old rusted blades. The bullet wounds where centered on her right shoulder, three small round blister-like scars, curved over her collar bone. She had two long scars on her ribs where plasma just grazed pasted her, those two where lucky misses. The last of her scars where scattered across her body. She had to thin scars on her left upper arm from a ghoul who thought she was going to attack him. She had another one like that on her foot, and one terribly jagged one on her left thigh caused by a ripper. Of all her scars however, the one around her left eye was the most prominent. It was from a raider who stomped harshly on her face while she was floored.

Her fingers rose to trace the boot shaped scar on her brow. It added character, Moriarty had said. She didn't care about _character_ ; she didn't care about intimidation either. If she could talk her way out of a situation she would. Satisfied that she had no new scars to add to the count, she dropped her hand to her side, she glanced down at the clothes. They where soft but stiff, she figured that it was meet to go under armor. It was a cushion more than clothes. Sighing, Azalea picked up the pants and slipped them on. After tying those off, she picked up the shirt and studied it again. It wasn't _ugly_ per say, but she definitely preferred her metal armor, or at least her regulator duster, to this. After slipping the shirt and boots on she gave one last glance about the room before heading towards the door.

Slipping outside she was greeted with cold brisk air, and she couldn't fight the chill that ran down her spine. All around her people stood, talking amongst each other. As she passed she heard several people call her the 'Herald of Andraste'. _'Hell no.'_ she thought sourly. She was nobody's _Herald_. Coming to a stop near some stairs, she watched a group of men, all in the same uniform, standing by large half assembled catapults. She remembered reading about those in class. They where the forefathers of canons and the like. _'If they're going to forgo technology, then I suppose this would be their go-to siege weapons.'_ Azalea smiled and turned to the stairs, she remembered Cassandra leading her down them from the large central building. _'If my things are anywhere, they will probably be there.'_ She thought to her self.

Straightening her shoulders, she marched up the stairs, determined to get her things back. As she reached the top of the stairs however, she froze. In front of her Varric was leaning against a large pillar with his back turned to her. Azalea's attention however was on the dog that lay next to him. She watched as Varric ran his fingers through Dogmeat's fur and laughed as he leaned into his touch. Turning at the sound, both Dogmeat and Varric were greeted by Azalea as she approached. Varric only smiled at her, but Dogmeat bound forward, jumping and yipping around her.

"You really took care of him for me." She smiled at Varric. "Thank you." Varric chuckled.

"I said I would, and he's a good dog. Well trained with an easy temperament. Where did you get him?" Varric asked as he watched Azalea reach down to wrestle with Dogmeat. He had never seen this bread of dog before, and outside of the Mabari bread, none this intelligent. Most dog breads where long and lanky, meant more for tracking and hunting than actual fighting. This dog however, had muscle on him. Not as much as a Mabari, true, but he was definitely born to fight.

Azalea's grin widened, "I found him in a dump. He was fighting with some raiders." She slowed her wrestling down to a pet and Dogmeat plopped down on his back. "I was going to shoot the raiders, but this big guy here had them dead before I could even draw my gun." Azalea patted Dogmeat one last time before standing and turning to Varric. "I was going to just leave after I took the raiders things, but Dogmeat here just followed me around. And I didn't name him. He had this collar that was too tight; after I cut it off of him I say that 'Dogmeat' was carved into it." Azalea shrugged her shoulders, scratching Dogmeats head when he leaned against her leg.

"So what are you doing up? You've been out for three days now; a lot of people where starting to say you wouldn't wake up." Varric said as he turned watch the gossiping people.

"I was looking for my things." Azalea looked back up at the large building. "I need to get home." Varric sighed and looked off in the distance. Following his gaze Azalea say the Breach still hung in the sky. "I told you that it wouldn't close." Varric snorted and shook his head.

"Cassandra is in the chantry. If she see's you she'll try to drag you off and demand you help close it completely." Azalea scrunched up her face and shook her head. Cassandra could shove it. She did what she said she would be able to, she would do no more. "Try not to be too upset with her though, she's only trying to do what's right." Varric tried to placate. "She probably has your things as well." Azalea nodded before waving goodbye to Varric and making her way to the 'Chantry' to get her things.

* * *

The Chantry looked the same before; candles lined the path through the entrance hall to a set of strange statues. As Azalea made here way towards the cellblock with Dogmeat, she paused as she heard several voices arguing from the room at the very end of the large hall. It sounded like Cassandra and the Roderick fellow. Shaking her head, she opened the door to the cell block and descended the stairs. If they're arguing they are less likely to notice her snooping around. Their voices faded out as she continued down into the basement, she had thought there would be guards down here, but it seemed that there was no other prisoner to guard.

She walked quickly to the cells and began to search the room for her bag. Dogmeat stood by the door and watched as Azalea opened every box, crate, barrel, and cell looking for her belongings. Finally she let out a frustrated growl and marched out of the room. There was another gated room just outside this one. It was most likely a guard's room; her things could be in there for holding.

When Azalea reached the door, she grasped the handle and gave a hard tug. While it didn't open it did let out a loud clanking noise that bounced throughout the empty basement. Azalea froze and waited for anyone who might have heard it, but it seemed that anyone who was close enough to hear it didn't care. Kneeling, she examined the lock on the door. It was old and looked pretty easy to pick. Her hand drifted to her hip and groped at air, before she remembered that she put her pins in her bag for safe keeping.

Grunting she stood and pressed her face against the bars. The room was light by a single torch by a desk, bookshelves where on the far wall. There where several boxes in front of them, but they were too small for any of her things to fit in. With a heavy sigh she pulled away and moved back out of the basement. ' _Varric is mostly likely right. Cassandra is probably holding her things hostage.'_ She thought gloomily.

When she reached the top of the stairs she heard the arguing had stopped; that means they either left or where talking _civilly_ now. Deciding to check she headed to the door and pressed her ear against it. She heard some shuffling from within but little else. Someone was in there; maybe they could get her things for her. Telling Dogmeat to wait outside, she pushed the door open slowly and walked in. Two guards stood by the door, Cassandra and Roderick where staring hard at each other with Leliana watching. The door closed behind her with a heavy 'thunk', alerting the others to her presence.

"Chain her!" Roderick snapped. "I want her prepared for travel to the Capital for trial."

"Disregard that, and leave us." Cassandra butted in. The guards thumped their fists on their metal chest pieces before exiting the room.

"You walk a dangerous line, Seeker."  
"The Breach is stable, but it is still a threat. I will not ignore it." Cassandra said walking towards the Chancellor. Azalea sighed before looking around the room. Her eyes lit up as she spotted her things in the far corner behind Leliana.

"So do you still think I'm responsible for what happened or am I cleared to go?" She said still eyeing her bag. It looked to be in order, but until she got her hands on it she wouldn't know if they took or damaged anything.

"You most certainly are!" Roderick growled out.

"No, she is not." Cassandra countered. That finally got Azalea's full attention. _'Cassandra thinks I'm innocent?'_ The thought calmed her down a tad. With everything that had happened, she figured that Cassandra would be one of her biggest accusers. "I admit that I was wrong, and acted out of sorrow when we arrested her." Azalea snorted at that. _'More like held me hostage…'_

"Someone was behind the explosion at the Conclave. Someone Most Holy did not expect." Leliana said. She seemed to have noticed where Azalea had been looking because she placed herself squarely in between her and her belongings. "Perhaps they died with the others—or have allies who yet live."  
Roderick seemed outraged at the notion. Especially since Leliana sent him a hard glare. " _I_ am a Suspect?"

"You, and many other." Azalea was glad to hear that, now that the threat was gone they seemed to be seeing reason.

"But not the prisoner."  
"My name is Azalea. Use it." She growled out. She had little patience for this. She just needed her bag and she would leave. She huffed and tried to see around Leliana. Her hunting rifle and combat shotgun where lying next to her bag on a table. She hoped they weren't damaged; she really didn't want to be stuck with knives until she could repair them.

Cassandra slammed a large book on the table, startling Azalea out of her thoughts. "You know what this is, Chancellor. A writ from the Divine, granting us the authority to act." The book was thick and had a swirly design on the cover. Azalea could vaguely make out what looked like an eye in the center. "As of this moment, I declare the Inquisition reborn." That gaze Azalea pause, and what little respect she had for Cassandra began to shrink. From what she could remember, Inquisitions never ended well. Most often than naught, they were used by greed lords and failing churches to try and restore 'order'.

Roderick brushes past her and she is once again brought out of her thoughts. Leliana approached the book and began explaining its purpose. "This is the Divine's directive: Rebuild the Inquisition of Old. Find those who will stand against the chaos." She sent a meaningful look at Azalea. "We aren't ready. We have no leader, no numbers, and now no Chantry support."

"But we have no choice: We must act now. With you at our side." Cassandra was looking at Azalea as well now. Both women expected her to help? Of course they did. Sighing, Azalea thought over everything that happened. Varric said she was out for at least three days. She had no clue as to where she might be, nor did she know how to get home. She never did get to go back to see Amata again. Looking back up at Cassandra and Leliana, both were waiting patiently for her to say something.

"If I help you…I want you to help me." Leliana nodded. "I need help getting home, I don't know where I am so you're going to have to fill me in."

"That is a just trade off." Cassandra said offering her hand. "Help us fix this before it's too late." Azalea looked at Cassandra's hand before grasping it. They had a deal.

* * *

A week passed and Azalea had still not seen her things. Nor did anyone have anytime to inform Azalea as to where exactly they were. Everyone had been busy preparing Haven for the arrival of various, _notable_ , people. Leliana sent out ravens to people calling for their aid. Azalea however, did not get to meet any of them. She was immediately whisked of to be outfitted for some special armor. She very much liked the new set. She was given a thicker, black version of her fancy pajama suit, along with some metal gauntlets, shoulder pads, and a high colored white vest. Her thigh high boots where surprisingly comfortable to walk in. But of all the things she was happy to receive; it was the brand new set of lock picking gear that was clipped to her waist belt. They had actually been given to her by Varric when she mentioned that she had been using bobby pins and a screw driver.

She smiled down at Dogmeat who had been given a leather harness. Large leather pieces where held snugly against his body as make shift armor. The biggest piece sat on the front of his chest down to his belly, while two smaller pieces hung off his back to protect his hind legs. He _hated_ it. He was constantly trying to take it off, getting his lower jaw stuck in the harness, where he then had to walk awkwardly around until someone would help him.

They now stood in front of the Chantry, waiting for Cassandra to finish talking with some scouts. Cassandra had said she would introduce her to the Inquisition advisors, and together they would start discussing how they would gain enough support to get help in closing the Breach. Apparently the Chantry Clerics didn't like her, and where trying to cut off all their channels. Leliana was constantly sending out her ravens, calling in favors and trying to reconnect with lost connections. It was all very surreal to Azalea; in the few months that she had lived in the Wastes, she never really had to deal with politics. She did odd jobs for some people; gathered information on her where her father could have gone, and even did favors for friends and neighbors.

Her mind drifted, and she wondered if the residents of Megaton have ransacked her 'house' yet. She wasn't sure exactly how long she had been away yet, about half a month? The longest she's ever been away from Megaton was about five weeks. But Moira had known that she would be, and was able to keep looters away. She didn't care if they did take anything; it was all armor, weapons, food, and nick knacks. All the things that she held important were with her. Or, they were with Leliana. The woman was still holding her things hostage. _'Insurance, I guess'_ Azalea thought.

Cassandra approached her and with a nod they both headed inside. In the busy week that she had spent there, she was still not accustomed to the lack of electricity. But the water, they water was so _fresh_ and _crisp_. She actually choked on it the first time she drank some. She had been with Solas and Varric in the tavern at the time. Both had stopped talking in favor of watching her choke and sputter, looking at her as if she had two heads. There was actually a startling lack radiation anywhere. It was impossible for any group of people to clean out that much radiation. It seeps into the very soil in the land. It was like there was no radiation here, _ever_.

"Does it trouble you?" Cassandra asked. Azalea glanced down at her hand, assuming that she meant the mark. She had spent nights simply staring at the thing, sketching it out and what she knows of it so far. It wasn't much but it kept her from panicking every time it would spark.  
"I wish I knew what it was, y'know?" She glanced up sheepishly at Cassandra. "It doesn't hurt me anymore."  
"We will find out." Cassandra assured. "What's important is that your mark is now stable, as is the Breach. You've given us time, and Solas believes a second attempt might succeed—provided the mark has more power." Azalea snorted and looked at Cassandra incredulously.

"Where will we get more power?" she cut off. "We'd need a _lot_ of power."

"That is what we will be discussing today." Cassandra said nodding to the newly dubbed 'War Room'. Azalea didn't like that, if they weren't at war then why call it that. Though, when isn't someone at war?

The duo walked briskly into the room. There where already three people waiting for them. Leliana stood on the far left side of the room, standing as straight backed as always. On the far right of the room stood a young and pretty woman holding a clipboard; she had naturally tan skin and a cute beauty mark on her jaw line. The last person was on the other side of the table from her. He was a rather handsome man with striking blonde hair that he kept combed back, his most notable attribute though, was the red and black feathers he wore around his shoulders

"May I present Commander Cullen, Leader of the Inquisition's forces." Cassandra spoke up.

"Such as they are. We lost many soldiers in the Valley, and I fear many more before this is through." Cullen had a deep voice, one that made Azalea shiver. Blushing she nodded her head at him before looking down.

"This is Lady Josephine Montilyet, our ambassador and chief diplomat." Azalea smiled widely at the woman. She could definitely be friends with anyone who chose to speak through conflict first and foremost.

"I've heard much. It's a pleasure to meet you at last." She said, smiling warmly back at Azalea.

"And of course you know Sister Leliana." Cassandra finished.

"My position here involves a degree of…" She started to say.

"She is our spymaster." Cassandra interrupted bluntly. Azalea snorted as Leliana commented on Cassandra's tact, or lack thereof.

"It's very nice to meet you. I'm Azalea and this here is Dogmeat." Azalea put in. She could be civil if she wanted to. Cullen and Josephine had down nothing to her to earn her anger. "Cassandra mentioned that we where going to talk about getting more power?"

"Yes, but first we wanted to talk to you about something else." Leliana commented before nodding to Cullen. Said man knelt down and pulled out her things from under the table. "We wanted to ask you what some of the items in your bag are."

Sighing Azalea stepped closer to the table and finally got to inspect her things. She quickly moved her hand over her two larger guns, and when she was satisfied that they where not damaged she moved on to her bag. It was a standard brown traveler's bag, complete with the many buckles and pockets all over it. Unzipping one of the pockets she pulled out her medicine and food rations. Moving on to the next pocket she slowly she pulled out her 10mm pistol and her combat knife; they where heavily damaged and rarely used. She laid them next to her big guns before unzipping four other smaller pockets. With these, she only glanced in them before zipping them back up; they where her ammo pockets and she didn't want them getting mixed. With only two more pockets to go she opened the smaller one first, in this pocket she pulled out her food sanitizer, her key ring, about twenty or so bobby pins, a metro ticket, her copy of the 'Wasteland Survival Guide', some random bits of scrap metal, and finally two fingers. She had forgotten about those, the other occupants of the room save Leliana gagged at the site. Shrugging Azalea moved to the last pocket, it was her armor pocket. With her goggles secured around her neck and her recon suit discarded in her quarters that left two items, her metal armor and her regulator duster. With everything laid out in front of them she looked back up at their still green faces. "What do you want to know?"

Immediately, Leliana stepped forward and gestured towards her guns. "Let's start with these." Azalea nodded and picked up her hunting rifle. It was odd that they wouldn't know what guns are, but Azalea was going off the assumption that these people had isolated themselves from the world.

"These are my guns," She started slowly. "This one is my hunting rifle, I use it mainly for animals but I have used it on people and feral ghouls before." Setting that one down, she picked up her combat shotgun. "This is my go to weapon, my combat shotgun. I can take down quite a lot with this." Azalea said with a smile.

"Weapon?" Cullen asked. "How do the work?" He moved to pick up the rifle but Azalea grabbed his wrist.

"You don't ever touch a gun if you don't know how to use it. You're libel to blow your own head off." Cullen paled at her words and coughed before taking a step back. "As to how they work, I can't give you the details." She paused before moving onto the final gun. "This is my ten millimeter pistol. It's not as strong as my other two, but it's good to have on hand for when someone tries to sneak up on me." Azalea finished by putting her gun down and turning to Leliana.

"Alright, this large cubic item, is this a weapon as well?" Azalea smiled at Leliana's question. She had gestured the food sanitizer, and was eyeing rather greedily. Azalea got the sudden feeling she should never show her how her guns work. Nor even mention the four frag grenades wrapped in her sleeping bag.

"That is my food sanitizer, and it does what the name suggests. It makes sure that my food it clean and safe to eat…or well clean _er_ and saf _er_ to eat." The line of questioning continued until finally they came to her 'Wasteland Survival Guide'.

"What does this say?" Cullen asked as he held the book up. Azalea sent him a questioning glance. _'It's in English…is the man illiterate?'_

"It says: Wasteland Survival Guide. It details all the does and don't of living in hostile environments." She said slowly.

"Really?" Josephine asked, she motioned for Cullen to hand her the book. In the process she had set down her clipboard. Azalea glanced at it and spied her notes, they where written in odd block script that she didn't recognize. "I can't read it…Why isn't in common?" Josephine asked.

"C-common?" Azalea stuttered out. "English is the most common language in America…" The other sent her an odd glance before sharing a look.

"Where is America? Is it in the far west? I must say I have never heard of any such settlement by that name in all of Thedas." Leliana asked. _'What? Everyone knows about America…'_ Azalea felt the coldness of panic begin to slip in.

"I don't understand…Where on Earth is Thedas?"

* * *

 **Yay cliff hanger!**

 **For the two people who asked, you will see her realization next chapter!**

 **Thank you to everyone who has followed/favorited my story, I hope I continue to please.**


	5. Denial and Peculiar Cattle

Cassandra and Leliana shared a look while Cullen and Josephine only looked at her in confusion. Azalea stuttered and leaned forward on the table. "Is…Is Thedas a territory? Somewhere up north? Maybe in Canada…yeah…I was in the Capital Waste, that's not too far away." Looking up at the others, she liked her lips and began packing her things. With a shaky breath, she pulled her bag off the table and swung it onto her back. "Do you have map?"

Cullen nodded and turned to the table behind them. "Thedas isn't a city. It's the continent that we're on right now." He assured while laying two large maps on the table. He pointed to a region of mountains on the right map. "We're here, in the Frostback Mountains." He moved his hand to the other map and pointed to a large empty portion. "This is the Wastes, where we assumed you meant…Where is Amaireka? Is it a settlement over here?" Cullen looked up at Azalea, brows furrowed.

"Um…" Azalea looked over the map, panic and confusion settling in her chest. "Th-this isn't where we are…We're on the continent North America, in the United States of America. We can't be anywhere else, that wouldn't make sense…" her throat tightened and spots flashed in front of her eyes. Azalea ran a shaky hand over her mouth, eye moving frantically across the map. A hand softly touched her shoulder and Azalea jerked away. Josephine was next to her with a look of concern on her face. Azalea saw her mouth move, but no words came out. Her world span and Azalea suddenly found herself outside. There was a buzzing in her ears as she walked through Haven; she could make out the shapes of people but not their faces, not their voices. Colors blurred until she finally collapsed to her knees, she could vaguely make out the cold snow she knelt in as she looked over a hill; below her was the catapults that she had often times spent examining.

Letting herself fall back she stared at clouds slowly passing by. Thoughts raced around her mind, giving her a headache. Something large and warm plopped down next to her and snuggled into her side, startling her from her mind. A soft snort came from the thing next to her. Azalea's eyes focused on it and she found herself staring down at Dogmeat. "Hey buddy…we—we're pretty far from home it seems." Her throat tightened, choking her. Dogmeat scooted closer to her and licked her chin. "We're…so far from home…" Azalea ignored the soft crunching that was slowly growing louder.

A shadow fell over her, forcing herself to look up Azalea came to look at Josephine standing over her. "I told the others to let me talk to you." She said slowly. "You ran out of the war room so fast we weren't sure what happened." Josephine sent her a soft, unsure smile before coming to kneel next to her. Minutes passed and the tanned woman simply looked out over Haven. Azalea was grateful for the silence; it allowed her time to breath. She ran a hand down Dogmeat's neck, over and over. They couldn't be on another continent, their Overseers—whatever they were calling themselves—had obviously created a synthetic world for these people to live in. They were deep underground in a Vault of some kind, that wasn't a real sky, it was a projection; and they had vents hidden all around that helped simulate weather and seasons. 'Yeah, that's it'. Despite this reasoning, Azalea couldn't make herself believe it.

Josephine turned to Azalea and grabbed her hand. "Are you alright?" She asked. "I understand what a panic attack feels like, don't worry it will pass." She ran her fingers through Azalea's hair. "What exactly caused your panic?"

Azalea took a deep breath and looked down at Dogmeat. "We—we just can't possibly be on another continent…" closing her eyes she swallowed hard. Josephine grabbed her hands and squeezed.

"It's alright…This, Amarika that you're from, what is it like?" Josephine asked.

"America…"She muttered. Azalea paused and thought over what she would say. "It's…it's awful. The air is toxic, so is the water…Everything in all the land is either mutated or dead; or they mutate so much they die." Looking down at her lap, Azalea flicked her tongue over the gape in her teeth. "You can't go a mile without running into a raider, or a super mutant. Feral ghouls wander around, attacking anything that moves. Of course this just causes prejudice for the other sane ghouls who are trying to survive like the rest of us." Azalea chuckled darkly, thinking back to all the times she encountered a ghoul who thought she was there to kill them.

"It can't be all bad."

"No, even among all the rot and filth, there was always those good moments." Azalea smiled up at Josephine. "Be it getting lucky and finding a forgot food stash, or camping out with another group for the night and actually waking up with all your things…There are a few good things." Wiping her eyes Azalea nudged Dogmeat off of her lap and stood. Looking down at Josephine she tried to smile, but it came out as a grimace. "If what you all are saying is true…then we have no home…so, I just can't believe it."

Standing Josephine dusted off her skirt and motioned for Azalea to follow her. "As long as you are here, you will have a home. And when this is over, we will find you a more permanent residence." Azalea nodded and smiled at Josephine. The woman was too good, she wouldn't have lasted a minute in the Waste. Josephine turned suddenly, "Now, while we have much to discuss, I think we should all break for lunch, yes? How does that sound?" Azalea smiled at the other woman and nodded. Lunch sounded delicious.

* * *

Azalea leaned back in her seat and watched the people in the tavern. Josephine had recommended they eat there instead of taking their food and parting ways. Cullen, Leliana, and Cassandra had been waiting at the base of the hill, making sure to keep the civilians at bay. Cassandra had tried to say something but with a nudge from Leliana she stopped short and simply followed behind Azalea. They had been in the tavern for about five minutes before Varric joined them, he sat a tankard of ale in front of Azalea before taking a seat from across from her. "I don't know what is going on, but you look like you could use a pick me up." He had said, before turning to Dogmeat pawing at his thigh, begging for scraps. Azalea agreed with him.

Sipping on the ale, Azalea thought over her current predicament. It was impossible; they couldn't be on another continent. Perhaps an island of the coast…after all, the only maps she had to go off of where old pre war maps, the world's terrain was bound to change in two hundred years. But the big question still begged to be answered. 'How did I get here from the Memorial?' The 'memory' she had received at the Conclave passed before her again, and Azalea washed it away with a large swig of her drink. 'How much time has passed? Did I survive activating the Purifier? Perhaps…we left…' These thoughts raced through her mind and soon enough she found herself with an empty tankard.

Lifting her head, Azalea glanced at the others around the table. Leliana and Josephine had there heads together over some paperwork. They never stopped working it seemed. Cullen and Cassandra were sitting next to each other, not really talking but every now and then making the odd comment. Both were casting worried glances her way every few minutes. The last was Varric who still sat across from her. He was laughing at Dogmeat, every now and again tossing him a small sliver of meat from his plate. 'Meat.' Azalea's eyebrows crinkled as she thought about it. It wasn't bad, but it was definitely different. That was another thing that sent her mind reeling, they had really weird looking cattle.

Azalea thought back to her first encounter with a 'Druffalo'. She had thought it was a variant of a Bighorner at first, and was really concerned seeing a man herding them out in an open field in front of Haven's gates. The only problem was that they all seemed so docile. While she had personally never seen a Bighorner, long talks with Moira about various Waste creatures had given her enough to go off of. Thomas, a young recruit, had told her that Druffalo and Rams were the main source of food in this area. He even pointed the special cow they had received as a gift to her. He was rather excited about that, apparently they were reserved for nobility. It resembled a small Brahmin, but it only had one head. She had made comment about it without thinking and Thomas only looked at her as if she said they should be shitting gold. Suffice to say the recruits had something new to talk about. 'Oh how their savior was CRAZY!' When Varric had heard of it he tracked her down just to ask himself. "What is this I've heard about two headed cattle?" The grin on his face was unbearable and Azalea was certain she had blushed deeply at the man.

"So, Herald, we have some important business to discuss." Josephine butted into her thoughts. 'Herald? Who's a herald?' Azalea glanced at the woman and her insides twisted when she found Josephine looking at her.

"Are you talking to me?"

"Yes, the people have taken to calling you the Herald of Andraste—"

"And you let them?!" Azalea interrupted, she was no way in hell, a 'Herald'. Especially not to some goddess or whatever, that she's never even heard of. "Look, you know what? What they call me, I don't care. But you guys! Do. Not. Call. Me. That." She snarled. Josephine's eyes widened and she looked down. The others looked at her disapprovingly but didn't say anything. "I already have a name the people call…that's enough." Azalea sighed.

Josephine cleared her throat, calling attention back to her. "Fair enough, now the issues at hand." Picking up a piece of paper she handed it to Cassandra. "We are in sore need of horses. We have already sent scouts out to retrieve some, but as it stands, we currently have none." Cullen made a nose in the back of his throat and looked at Josephine.

"What happened to the three spare we had?"

Josephine sighed "Well one of them was stolen…another one fell to illness, and the last one is currently being used by a courier on his way to Val Royeaux. That is why we need you to go to the Hinterlands and talk with the Horsemaster, Dennet." The last bit was directed at Azalea. "While you're there, there is a chance to help with our troubles with the Chantry." Azalea raised one eyebrow at that. She knew what she meant. For the past week she was busy dodging clerics and the faithful, who tried to label her as a liar and that everything she's done blasphemy. She didn't care at first; she would simply take the long way around them down to the blacksmiths. Then when she tried to talk with Adan about the lack of proper medical knowledge, they started following her into his apothecary. In no way, shape, or form, was Adan going to let that carry on. So until they left her alone, she was banned from his work place. "She believes that we are doing good work and wishes to help." Azalea tuned back into Josephine as she passed her a sheet of paper.

One glance at the piece of paper almost sent her into another panic attack. Instead of the normal scratch she knew as English, the page was covered in blocky characters that swooped low and high not too dissimilar to old runes she had read about in the Arlington Library. With a hard swallow, she sat the paper down and looked at her nails. "I can't read that…"

Cassandra rolled her eyes and grabbed the paper. "What do you mean you can't read it?" Azalea lifted her head to look at them; they all had some form of curiosity, amusement, or disbelief written on their faces. Blushing she looked back down at her hands.

"Is it like how where were unable to read your book?" Leliana put in. Recalling how that was what initially caused her to have a panic attack, Azalea took a deep breath and nodded. Leliana pursed her lips and took the paper from Cassandra. She turned to Josephine and motioned for the papers. "Are there any more reports for her?" Josephine nodded and quickly pulled the documents out of the pile. "Until you are able to read, one of us will read the reports to you. Understand?" Everyone nodded. Leliana stood and looked around the tavern. "This first report can be read to you before you set out for the Hinterlands tomorrow morning." With a nod she motioned for Josephine to follow her.

Cullen and Cassandra both stood at the same time. "If you need me I will be out training the troops." Cullen said with a nod. Cassandra patted her on the shoulder and motioned for her to stand.

"Cassandra," Varric called. "I'll teach Mouse here how to read. Tell Josephine that." The man winked at Azalea as she walked behind Cassandra out of the tavern. Before leaving she turned to see where Dogmeat had run off to. He was lying under Varric, fast asleep. Deciding not to disturb him, she turned and jogged up to Cassandra.

"The trip to the Hinterlands is a long one, especially since we do not have horses." Cassandra started. "I will have some recruits gather supplies; you can pack up your bag in the war room while I read the report to you." Azalea nodded as the two women practically marched through the Chantry building.

* * *

Azalea stretched out the kinks in her back as she stood at Haven's gate. Dogmeat sat by her feet, almost grinning at Solas and Varric who both looked dead on their feet. When Cassandra said they would leave early, she meant early. The sun hadn't even risen over the horizon yet. Not that she minded however. Often times, she and Dogmeat would be up and on the move all the time, sometimes even before it was even technically tomorrow. Azalea smiled and happily hitched her bag higher on her shoulder. When she had been repacking the previous night, she had found the old medical book she had been reading tucked next to her frag grenades in her bed roll. While it was nothing she didn't already know, she knew of a certain old man who knew next to nothing about dealing with the sick or wounded. Adan had been all too happy to take the book off her hands. True he couldn't read it, but the book had plenty of diagrams about the human body and dealing with injuries that he could follow. That made being so far from home that much more bearable. I'll get to work translating it when I get back. With a nod she turned to a yawning Varric.

"So Varric, when will you start teaching me how to read?" Varric blinked up at the woman and rubbed his eyes.

"I'll start on our first stop in an hour or so when we set off." He yawned, "I got a real special book for you to read." Azalea nodded, the smile slowly falling from her face, she really didn't' like that glint in his eyes.

"I had heard a rumor that you were illiterate, but I was unsure if it was true." Solas was slowly waking up. The tips of his ears pink from the morning wind. Azalea grunted and looked down. She was still embarrassed that she could now be considered that.

"Ah, come on Mouse, it's nothing to be ashamed of. There are plenty of people around Thedas who can't read." Azalea didn't feel any better. It was just too weird for her—wait…Mouse? She sent him a questioning glance and he only chuckled. "Maybe while I'm teaching you, you can show me that book that Leliana mentioned yesterday."

Azalea opened her mouth to agree, when Cassandra marched up to them. "All right, everything is set. If we keep a steady pace we should be there by mid day." They all nodded and set off for the large entrance bridge. Dogmeat happily trotted about behind them, sometimes charging ahead to chase an animal. With a sigh, Azalea let the smile set on her face again. It wasn't exactly like back home, but it was close enough.

* * *

There first stop came all too soon for Azalea's tastes. It was only for about ten minutes, but she still felt they could have walked another hour before stopping. She sat on the ground next to Varric, fiddling with her Pipboy and notepad. Varric had decided that the best way to teach her would be to start with the alphabet. In total there were twenty nine letters. While the majority of the letters did correspond with letter in the English alphabet, there was no translatable form for the letters, J, Q, or V. Likewise they had one letter that had no English variant. And then there were the coupled letters. While in the English language, when you wanted to combine two sounds, you simply placed the letters that made the sounds next to each other. Here, there were letters for those sounds.

Azalea scratched her head and looked down at her translation paper. To be honest, it was more of a cheat sheet. When she couldn't get her head around the new letters, Solas had suggested that they each write the alphabet down and work through the sounds. It really helped her, since every minute she seemed to refer to the damned thing. Varric had given her a piece of paper with sentences on it, and had set her to the task of translating them to the best of her ability. There were simply sentences is like, 'The sky is blue.', 'I have an apple.', or 'She took my things.'. Varric said that when she had mastered recognizing the letters they would move onto larger words, and then onto learning proper grammar.

"We have stayed here long enough." Cassandra called. "We will take another short break just before we reach our destination." Dogmeat eager jumped up and followed her as she started down a hill and through some bushes. Since it was such a short break, they hadn't taken out any of their supplies. Azalea tucked the paper under her Pipboy. Stretching as she stood, Azalea waited for Solas and Varric to head down the hill before her.

The plant life no longer bothered her too much. Liar. Instead she made note of what she saw in the Pipboy. She took picture of everything with her Pipboys analyzer. It wasn't technically made for that purpose, but it worked. "Azalea, I have been meaning to ask you. What is that strange device on your wrist?" Solas asked as she stopped to take a picture of a bush. "I was not able to take it off of you when trying to help stabilize your mark." Azalea bit her lip, thinking hard on how she could explain it.

"It's called a Pipboy." She started. "It's given to us on our tenth birthday, marking that we were old enough to be given jobs." Licking her lips she looked down at it. "We use it to catalogue things." Not a complete lie, but she didn't want to tell him how it worked either. Solas furrowed his brows when she didn't continue. With a heavy sigh and a shake of his head, he sped up to walk beside Cassandra. Azalea still didn't like Solas all that much. Whenever they talked, she got the distinct impression that he wanted to dissect her mind. Figure out how the anomaly works. So, she didn't talk to him.

The group walked for another three hours, only stopping for a quick water break when Cassandra said they could. 'She drives a hard ship.' Azalea mused. Sure, she could walk all day, but that was on her own time. Cassandra pushed them harder than you would a stubborn Brahmin. She demanded that they keep a consistent pace so they would reach their destination that day. Which was hard for a certain midget in the group; he didn't complain, but he often shot glares at the back of the grouchy woman's head.

The sun continued to rise, and notably less snow began to litter the ground. And still, the group waked on in silence. Cassandra had told them that they would be meeting up with the scouts in less than half an hour, and was now drilling Azalea on what she could remember from the report….Which was about half. Azalea remembered that they had to get horses, and that they had to speak with some chantry woman. "Mother Giselle!" Cassandra growled out. The scout that they would be meeting with would further fill them in on the situation when they arrived. The refugees are suffering under the strain of all the fighting in the area. Azalea sighed at reciting that. It would be just like dealing with the gangs and raiders in the Waste. 'Kill the hostiles and loot their bodies.'

"That is despicable…" Cassandra muttered. Had she said that last bit out loud? Oops. Well if they had a problem with looting corpses they didn't have to watch.

* * *

Azalea walked up to the Lead Scout of the party. She was a pretty young woman, slightly shorter than Varric, with bright red hair like her own. "Cassandra tells me that you know what's going on." Azalea smiled 'She was cute.' The woman looked startled. "Sorry, I'm Azalea and your name is…"

"Inquisition Scout Harding," The woman stuttered out. "Yes…I do have some information for you. We were sent out to retrieve more horse for you but we've run into trouble."

"What kind of trouble?" Azalea asked when she paused.

"Well, with the Mage-Templar fighting…we can't get to Master Dennet. We aren't even sure if he's alive." She muttered. Azalea nodded, she could handle the fighting. "And the refugees are being seen to by Mother Giselle herself. But word is that the war is there as well."

"We'll do what we can." Azalea promised and watched Harding leave before turning to her little group. "Alright, I say we find Mother Giselle first. If she's with tending to the refugees that means there are likely to be injured; we can't let those people suffer through the fighting." The three nodded, agreeing with her. "When we're done dealing with the Templars and Mages, we'll work our way over to Dennet's and see if we can help anyone along the way." Azalea turned and headed for a ledge near the scout's camp. She surveyed the area before pointing to a statue and some building not too far away. "My guess is we should head there."

Cassandra walked to her side and looked where she pointed. "Yes, that looks like the refugee camp in the report." Azalea nodded and turned to walk down to hill. Dogmeat sniffed all around in front of the group before barking at a small hairless thing and taking off after it. With a laugh, Azalea jogged after the mutt. At the base of the hill, she found him pawing at shacks door, shoving his nose in a hole on the door.

Azalea jogged up to the door and used her knees to push of the overly excited dog away. "Hold on! I'll open it for you if you let me!" With her back on the door, she pushed open the door and jumped out of the way as he charged into the empty building. Laughing again, Azalea entered the shack and walked over to a piece of paper. With a glance, she beamed when she recognize a handful of words. "Varric! Read this." She handed the paper over before turning back to grab Dogmeat. He had the rodent clamped tightly in his mouth, back straight, as he proudly showed off his kill. "Good boy, you get to keep that." Azalea cooed at him. At her cue, Dogmeat shook the animal once before dropping him and sinking his teeth into its belly.

Turning back around, she found the group waiting outside for her and Dogmeat. Walking quickly out, she gave them a nod before heading down towards the refugee camp, whistling at Dogmeat over her shoulder. Dogmeat came bounding out, blood covering his muzzle and a chunk of meat hung out of his mouth as he charged before her. Cassandra walked up beside her with a pinched look on her face. "How long have you had that dog?" She asked.

Azalea 'hmmed' and looked up at the rocky cliffs around them. "About a year, why?"

"He is well trained, very intelligent. What kind of breed is he?" Azalea blew some air out of her cheeks at the question. 'What kind of breed…never been too interested in animals growing up.'

Azalea scrunched her nose and shook her head. "I'm not sure, I always just called him a mutt to be honest." Cassandra nodded but frowned before looking forward. They stopped short however, when Dogmeat crouched in front of them and began to stalk forward. Azalea recognized this behavior, so even before the sound of fighting hit her ears she pulled out her pistol.

"There's trouble ahead! Be ready!" With that she charged ahead of the others after Dogmeat.

* * *

 **I will return after December don't worry.**

 **I want to try and write the next five chapters before I begin uploading again. I plan to add some romance soon.**

 **Thanks to everyone who reviewed.**


End file.
